Tag: mini

Mini Estates must be destined for greatness, I’ve featured two previously (here and here) and they’re all just a little bit nuts. This one is no different, with rusted out shell as a starting point, and a not-so rusted MX5 brought into the mix, the two were combined in yet another fantastic Miata-based chassis-swap.

Thanks to Renaud for submitting. Click here for more Mini builds. Click here for more chassis swaps.

Can’t wait for your Project Binky fix? Well it’s not the only Mini build out there! A talented chap emailed me his build at the start of the year, and I’ve only just had a chance to have a proper read of it, and boy am I feeling stupid for waiting so long! The car is purchased with a 2.0L Vauxhall motor already swapped into it (which is quite large for a car this size), with a plan for a quick tidy up that soon spirals into a full build. While the car is in pieces, he decides to add a turbo, because, why not? Apart from the quality home-built fabrication (like the tube front subframe with pushrod suspension) and wiring that goes on, the car also goes on an intricate diet, with grams shaved from parts wherever possible. This is going to be one fast little Mini when it’s completed, so keep your eyes peeled for updates in the near future.

The folks at Bad Obsession Motorsport must have a bad obsession with building bonkers cars, because they’re putting together quite the ball-tearing package. They’re taking a Mini (or what’s left of it) and stuffing it full of running gear from a ToyotaCelica GT-Four. Yes, that’s a 4 cylinder turbo with all wheel drive. What’s better is that they’re documenting it all on video, with some token British dry humour (my favourite kind). Watching the guys cut, linish, fold, and weld hand-make bracketry and structural sections is making me want to get out into the garage more than ever. “Project Binky” will be one serious little Mini once completed.

I’ll be sure to update this post and let you know via the Facebook page when more videos are released.

After featuring a few big-time builds in a row, I thought it was time we get back into a regular car-guy’s project. I’ve been following this thread on and off for a while, and it’s been nothing short of a weld-a-thon and a true exercise in DIY modifying. For someone like me who has recently picked up the MIG welder, it’s been a priceless source of information and inspiration. Each modification is tackled individually, broken down into basic shapes and processes, making it very easy to follow and learn from.

Yes, you read that correctly, a 1JZ in a Mini. A 1JZ…in a Mini. I don’t know what is causing the recent influx of Mini’s here lately, but this is the 3rd one I’ve featured in as many months. To be honest I don’t like featuring similar cars in close succession, and this build is still a fair way off completion, but there just wasn’t any way I could hold off on showing you this one any longer (plus the only thing ‘similar’ to the other ones is what’s left of the body shell!). Did I mention this Mini has a 1JZ in it?

With so many out-there projects and engine swaps being featured lately, I thought it would be a nice change of pace to feature a good old fashioned restoration. Jon emailed me his very thorough re-build of a classic 1977 Mini pickup. What I love about this build is that Jon built the car to be driven, and when I say “driven” I don’t mean to a few shows and back home again, he took his freshly completed Mini on a 3000mile road-trip around Europe.

What do you do when your classic Mini no longer provides you with enough forward velocity to quench your desire for speed? Well you could supercharge it, but what if you’ve already tried that route? How about getting your hands on an aftermarket subframe conversion kit and slotting in a DOHC Honda B18C? Thanks to Michael from JDMST for submitting.

This is yet another build I’ve had stashed away for a while, one that I keep checking on for updates, hoping to see a bit more progress before I feature it. But with these builds there always comes a time when I realise that enough is enough, you all need to see it, no matter if it’s finished or not. The essentials are: 1978 Mini Clubman Estate (wag0n), rear mounted 20V turbo Passat VW engine, flat floor and raised suspension mounting points.

Car magazines have been a long-time love of mine. From a very, very young age I have thoroughly enjoyed flicking the glossy pages and seeing all kinds of custom cars in print, it has a certain feeling that the internet just can’t reproduce. But as good as magazines are, they leave a few voids, and one of those is that due to their limited space they only show you the finished product of a car. If you’re reading this, then like me, you want to see how a car was built. Every now and then the correct planets align and during your online browsing you manage to stumble across the build thread of a magazine feature car. That’s exactly what happened to me the other day during my daily perusal of STANCE|WORKS. I recognised this Mini instantly as the cover car of an issue of RetroCars I have at home and couldn’t wait to dive into it to see how the little “brick” was pieced together.

If you’re anything like me (which, if you’re reading this, you probably are), then you love watching car videos online. The only annoying thing is trying to find them, because let’s face it, navigating YouTube can get tiring after a while, there’s only so many times I can handle watching videos that are NOTHING like what the thumbnail and description makes them out to be. That’s where Autos in HD comes into the picture. Much like Build-Threads gathers up all your favourite builds from around the ‘net and posts them in one convenient place, Autos in HD does the same thing with videos. Here’s two to get you started, focusing on builds of course…click to view.